Statement on the murder of “Niloy Neel”

Following the murders of Rajeeb Haider, Avijit Roy, Washiqur Rahmna, and Ananta Bijoy Das, today, the Mukto-Mona writer, blogger, and activist Niloy Neel has been hacked to death. He wrote in Mutko-Mona as well as in Istishon, and Facebook under the name of “Niloy Neel” (twitter: #NiloyNeel). In addition to writing, Niloy Neel was involved in various social justice movements and was the founder of the Bangladesh Science and Rationalists Association.

“Niloy Neel”

Ansar Al Islam, the Bangladesh branch of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has claimed responsibility for murdering Niloy Neel in his own home, in front of his family, because of his writing. The fundamentalists continue in their tradition of responding to the pen with machetes; the government of Bangladesh continues to supply the fundamentalists with all that is necessary to keep their machetes honed. One by one the enlightened, the freethinking writers, and activists of Bangladesh, are being brutally murdered. Their only crime is taking a stand against injustice, and superstitions prevalent in society. A machete may kill, in a cowardly manner, a human being of flesh and bone; it cannot kill their ideology. Our fight will continue. With all our strength we will continue to speak our minds, our dreams. For as long as there is even a single member of the freethinking community alive; for as long as a single sentence written by freethinking writers survives.

Niloy Neel’s FB status regarding lack of safety:

“Two men were following me two days ago. This happened when I was on my way back from attending the rally organized to protest “The Murder of Ananta Bijoy Das.” First, when I reached a certain place via public bus, they came with me to the same spot. Then, when I got on to a Laguna to reach my destination, one of them climbed aboard the Laguna with me. On the Laguna I realized this was the same guy who was on the bus with me, but there were two of them then. I thought to myself, well, it’s possible; perhaps one of them was going somewhere else so he took a different route.

Until then it seemed as usual. But on the Laguna, the young man was continually texting from his cellphone which made me suspicious. When I exited the Laguna before I reached my actual destination, he got off with me. I was quite scared, and hurried into a unfamiliar alley. Later when I looked back, I noticed that another young man, who had also been on the bus, had joined this young man, and they had not followed me into the alley; they were waiting at the alley entrance. Then I was quite certain that I was being followed. Because even if their destination was the same, they reached their through separate routes, following me. I went farther into the alley, and took a rickshaw keeping the hood up, and traveled to my destination. I reached in apparent safety with the help of a friend nearby.
When I tried to lodge a General Diary about this incident, I faced an even more bizarre situation. A police officer had told me in confidence that the police do not want to accept General Diaries like this because the officer who accepted such a General Diary, related to the personal safety of an individual, remains accountable to ensure the personal safety of said individual. If the said individual faces any difficulty, then the relevant police officer may even lose his job for negligence in duty. This is what I saw when I visited the thanas to file a General Diary. When the surveillance on me had occurred, I had had to pass by several thanas, and so today when I visited one that had been in the vicinity, they refused to accept my General Diary. They told me this isn’t under our jurisdiction, go to this other thana, it’s their jurisdiction, and also, leave the country as soon as possible.”

On May 15, 2015, Niloy had been followed by some people when he was returning from participating in a protest rally for the murder of Ananta Bijoy Das. When he realized what was happening, he had gone to the police station to file a General Diary (GD). His GD was not accepted. He posted in detail about this incident on Facebook, where he expressed fear that his life was under threat. With his life he has proved that people who are atheists, non-religionists, secular, anti-fundamentalist, and pro-freedom-of-speech are not safe in Bangladesh; as if they have no other choice than to leave their country. They are not safe even in their own homes—Niloy Neel was murdered in his house. One man gained entrance to his house by pretending to be there to rent an apartment; then others entered, locked everyone in the house in one room, while hacking Niloy to death in the other. Niloy died right there; his blood spattered over all the books he loved, his computer.

Niloy’s house; image from banglanews24

The Mukto-Mona family will always remain by the side of Niloy Neel’s family. The pain of losing a child or a husband in this untimely and brutal manner is not to be forgotten. But know that there are thousands of us beside you—and we will be there forever. To send any information about Niloy Neel, and for Niloy’s family to contact Mukto-Mona for any support, please write to: [email protected]

Mutkto-Mona strongly condemns the continuing murders of writers, bloggers, and humanists. We call to the government of Bangladesh: Do not pander to fundamentalism anymore. Because no state has been spared by compromising with fundamentalists. Take immediate and effective steps to quell fundamentalism, and to create public awareness against it.

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28 Comments

Hana
August 18, 2015 at 8:33 pm

Just learnt that a Briton is being held for two of the murders,
Im not surprised, l have seen time and time again, how people who are bought up in a seemingly educated and liberal soceity can manifest such narrow mindedness, take tne isis for example, most of them are british, such people form their own c,iques and shut everyone else out, not allowing even a spot os sense to seep through their apparently tight nit ‘moral soceity’, drives me crazy……
To think that they are actually taking the time to read through these articles and pick and choose to whom they should cause harm next, whereas; when the blab about atheists and ‘infidels’ on their sources, no one is bothered to have a second look, just shows how their lives are made up of nothing but an itch to prove themselves better and different to other humans, although the main concept of islam is modesty…..
I wanna leave this planet.

Khushwant
August 14, 2015 at 10:19 pm

Most dangerous is
To be filled with dead peace
Not to feel agony and bear it all,
Leaving home for work
And from work return home
Most dangerous is the death of our dreams.
Most dangerous is that watch
Which runs on your wrist
But stands still for your eyes.
Most dangerous is that eye
Which sees all but remains frostlike,
The eye that forgets to kiss the world with love,
The eye lost in the blinding mist of the material world.
That sinks the simple meaning of visible things
And is lost in the meaning return of useless games.
Most dangerous is the moon
Which rises in the numb yard
After each murder,
But does not pierce your eyes like hot chilies.
Most dangerous is the song
Which climbs the mourning wail
In order to reach your ears
And repeats the cough of an evil man
At the door of the frightened people.
Most dangerous is the night
Falling in the sky of living souls,
Extinguishing them all
In which only owls shriek and jackals growl,
And eternal darkness covers all the windows.
Most heinous is the direction
In which the sun of the soul light
Pierces the east of your body

I think all the bloggers writting for pro freedom and free speech needs to hardened up,the police if they aint going to do their job ,do the job yourself.start by training your neighborhood fellows in security issues and form vigilante like groups.

Muktar Ahmed Mukul
August 11, 2015 at 12:51 pm

Inspector General of police Dhaka AKM Shahidul Hoque has now asked the secular bloggers not to cross the limit in writing on religious issue. While his Police have conveniently failed to apprehend the murderers of Niloy and now giving a cold shoulder to FBI’s initiatives in the investigation, the statement of Hoque carries a special meaning.

Does religious issue only relates to Islam in Bangladesh? The answer is ‘yes’. Non-Muslims in Bangladesh have no write to religion. This has been legalized by inserting ‘Bismillah’ in the Constitution of Bangladesh. At that time Bangladeshi establishment did not cross the limit.

When in different parts of Bangladesh religious minority’s place of worship is desecrated and destroyed, when religious minority is abused as Kafirs, when non-Muslims are forced to convert to Islam, when Hindu girls are raped for being softest target on religious ground, limit is not crossed and people like Hoque feel pleased at the holiness of Islam.

AKM Shahidul Hoque should know that secular bloggers only write and that too about all religions. They don’t do the heinous acts as stated in the above paragraph. Secular blogger never prevented anybody to give counter arguments. But as Islamists do not have any counter argument to put forward, they just murder the secular bloggers with the active help from Bangladesh government.

ariana
August 10, 2015 at 8:57 pm

And for islamists ought there, pen has always been mightier than sword ..you ll be history soon

ariana
August 10, 2015 at 8:53 pm

RIP brave heart..!! Why don’t you people write under a pseudo name.. I think, it’s totally stupid to fight with religious fanatics in public…you can never defeat them when almost everybody (govt, police,common public) is with them and against you…my humble request to all bloggers out there, you people should take care of your safety first…seek asylum in western countries and write anonmously ,.it’s not cowardice …it’s called common sense

[…] been a serious source of concern for the bloggers and other humanists. Indeed, in May Niloy Neel published a Facebook post expressing concern that he had been followed by two individuals – and when he reported it to the […]

[…] been a serious source of concern for the bloggers and other humanists. Indeed, in May Niloy Neel published a Facebook post expressing concern that he had been followed by two individuals – and when he reported it to the […]

[…] Niloy Neel was many things to many people; a blogger, author, an activist engaged in various social justice causes, and the founder of the Bangladesh Science and Rationalists Association. His online writings touched upon diverse topics, philosophy, religions, social issues such as feminism, equality, gay rights, and so forth; he was a critic of religious fundamentalism, including Islamic fundamentalism, and relentlessly pointed out inconsistencies in religious edicts, superstitions, and other social ills. It was for his writings that he was deemed to have forfeited his life by divine fiat, and he was brutally murdered inside his residence – while his family was present at home – by assailants belonging to Ansar Al Islam, the Bangladesh branch of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (News report in Bangla here). […]

abu ahammad
August 9, 2015 at 7:46 pm

its un acceptable bloggers and writers dont have the freedom of speech. we are afraid to think of going back.im in uk still having problems to express my own view in bangladeshi comunity.its a shame for our nationality that we dont have freedom of speech.

Dalim Mia
August 9, 2015 at 1:03 pm

Islamist flagrant , thugs are popping up in society terribly. Political parties and even law enforcement agencies are reluctant to arrest and bring them under custody. In what society we are living, it is shame for all of us.

Dalim Mia
August 9, 2015 at 12:46 pm

how many deaths will happen, then this outrage will stop? No action of government and political parties repeating these havoc events again and again . These fundamentalist should be sentenced to death. These bullheaded person are not human just hyena, greedy .

Michael Streeter
August 9, 2015 at 10:43 am

In my country, it is against the law to incite violence or other crimes based on religion (and, as nobody can actually prove Islam/Hinduism/Christianity etc. even not having any religion at all is still classed as a ‘belief’). I would be looking to prosecute the people that published the hit list (or circulate it) for inciting murder.

I had not heard of Avijit Roy, Washiqur Rahman, Ananta Bijoy Das, Niloy Neel or Mutkto-Mona before today. Now I am reading some of their posts (mostly Mutkto-Mona so far). My thoughts are with you all at this time.

Jamal K
August 9, 2015 at 10:03 am

Truth is, free thinkers like Avijit Roy, Rajib Haider, Washiqur Babu, Ananta Bijoy Das and Neel Niloy gave Islamists in Bangladesh a very good scare by the use of their pens and keyboards. Islamists know that more and more books, blogs, articles, posts from people like them would slowly make moderate Muslims in Bangladesh think critically about Islam, to question their own religion (if left unopposed).

Islamists were terrified of only a handful of people who think rationally, who pose the threat of ripping an ideology that is centuries old into bits and pieces in Bangladesh. And they also knew that their arguments by the use of fairy tales would not stack up well against logical and rational arguments from someone like Avijit Roy. They know that they couldn’t win a rational arguments, and would have made themselves look like fools in front of 160 million Bangladeshis. Hence they resorted to machetes.

They most likely get these brutal murders done by Wahhabi madrasa students, telling them to mercilessly hack the “enemies to Islam” and send them to Jahannam, where the most merciful god can brutally torture them for eternity for writing about science and social justice (how dare they!).

At the same time I feel bad for a lot of these Wahahani madrasa students, they are forcefully blinded and manipulated by some 6th century Arab desert fairy tales (in this age of information). They are more like mindless “zombies” whose only purpose to live in this “duniya” are the promised 72 virgins in “bahist”.

Avijit Roy, Neel Niloy and many more inspire young atheists like me to step forward and pick up my pen. They remain my role models, by showing bravery and love for their nation.

Sukhamaya Bain
August 9, 2015 at 1:04 am

The excessive religiosity that Bangladesh has been going backward with needs to stop and reversed. The reality is that with a hundred million Islamic morons, the country is bound to have many Islamic hate-criminals, and the vote-seekers would not act against them. Without controlling the Islamic superstitions, senselessness and injustice that too many people seem to be getting comfortable with, Bangladesh has no honorable and peaceful future. An example of injustice with willing victims: Too many burqas. An example of senselessness: Too much of azan (call to prayer) on loudspeakers without caring about who is being disturbed. (A religious person would not need a loudspeaker to tell him/her to pray. Is this simple common sense too difficult to see for a 21th century human being?)

The intellectual nice conduct involving talks that are often polished with appeasement and political correctness would not work with the senseless, wild and ferocious beasts of Islamic fanaticism.

balki
August 8, 2015 at 10:30 pm

bangladesh government is so inhuman iniefficient to give safety to the lives of secular humans. what a useless govt is that . pityful sight . what can we do cry cry cry and cry ……… who will be the next that is question …….. fear is in the throne ……….. let us be fight with corurage in india we r with u

Anonymous
August 8, 2015 at 9:43 pm

This is a world problem. A human problem. An urgent problem. We cannot afford to loos any more free thinkers to terrorists. Not one more.

[…] According to Mukto-Mona, Chowdhury had written earlier with concern about the lack of security in Bangladesh, and his concern about being attacked for his beliefs on Facebook. […]

Bhaskar
August 8, 2015 at 8:23 pm

Ms Hasina,
Now it is Avijit, Babu, Ananta & Niloy. Tomorrow it will be you, Joy and likes. There is no escape for you from this big group of mad Islamist Bangladeshis. Try to hang on to power as long as you can by allowing the murder of your own people.

You are part of the long line of free thinkers that have moved humanity forward, I salute your courage and mourn the sacrifices of lives forced upon you.

Ali
August 8, 2015 at 6:14 pm

This is a nother drama by hasina and her bakshali team.

A Rahman
August 8, 2015 at 4:57 pm

The blogger by the name Niladri Chatterjee Niloy had been hacked to death at his own home in Dhaka by the Islamist thugs. Al-Qaeda Indian Sub-continent’s (AQIS) Bangladesh branch had admitted the responsibility. Then the Jamaat-e-Islam had condemned the killing of ‘Niloy Hossain’. Who this bloody ‘Niloy Hossain’ is? Isn’t Jamaat condoning it by distorting the name of the dead person and insulting the decency of common people? Who does Jamaat think kidding?

Muktar Ahmed Mukul
August 8, 2015 at 2:30 pm

Murder of Niloy was a cake walk for Islamists of Bangladesh because of the active supports they got from Bangladesh government. Niloy knew about the threat on his life. He moved to some distant village. He asked for police protection which was denied. And above all being a Mukto Mona he did not have an AK 47 wielding gang of criminals around him.

The Bangladesh government has decided to be pro-Islamists. Common Bangladeshi has become voiceless. Some people advise Mukto Monas not to lose heart. It is not the question of losing or gaining heart. Mukto Monas are not trained to face these rabid dogs.

The murderers have boasted that if Mukto Monas have right of free thinking then they should have sufficiently broad chest to take on the machetes of Allah’s soldiers. What a 7th century logic!

SCM
August 8, 2015 at 2:14 pm

What is the best way for secularists/free-thinkers outside Bangladesh to support you through these terrible times?

[…] Mukto-Mona, “an Internet congregation of freethinkers, rationalists, skeptics, atheists & humanists of mainly Bengali and South Asian descent who are scattered across the globe,” issued its “Statement on the Murder of “Niloy Neel’” […]

This Vicious Darkness that stalks your country in such brutal manner must be confronted. Your fight will be ours tomorrow. The more bloggers and artists stand up, the harder it is to kill them all. This brand of Islam has nothing to do with a Merciful God. It has nothing to do with compassion and empathy. It is the flimsy excuse of a desperate illiterate, a thug at heart, trying to turn the clock back to the Middle Ages!

I honor Niloy this day, and mourn him along with other courageous freethinkers who have lost their lives speaking out in the face of fear-based faith. Such a loss. Another voice silenced. Yet, our voices will only get louder and stronger; we will continue to think and speak freely in the Name of Good! I am sorry for his family and friends. You are NOT alone! (I invite a member of his circle to write a “guest post” on my blog, http://www.secularchaplain.wordpress.com).